Our Board
OELC is very fortunate to have a committed and knowledgeable volunteer board of directors. The membership of the board for our not-for-profit centre represents various stakeholders from across the province including educators, francophones, parents, alumni, former OELC facilitators and persons with business expertise.
The board meets regularly throughout the year providing direction and support to the leadership programs at OELC, refining and reviewing the mission and shared vision of the Centre, formulating and evaluating policy, overseeing fiscal affairs, and liaising with government and educational partners.
The following is a list of our Board members. The thousands of students who have benefited from their OELC experience thank them for their caring and committed work.
Jane Cutler,
Acting President
Jane is a retired music educator who taught at the elementary and secondary levels in the former North York Board of Education and the York Region District School Board. She has served on the boards of a number of provincial and national music and arts organizations.
Jane began her OELC involvement with the Secondary Music Course in 1983. She created the Intermediate Arts Course in 1993 and joined the Board of Directors in 1994. She was President of the Board from 2010-2014.
Jane is passionate about the role that the arts play in the lives of young people. She believes the arts provide unique ways to deepen our understanding of ourselves and others, address social justice issues and affect positive change. OELC is the ideal environment for our youth to be nurtured toward these goals.
Judy Blaney,
President
During her rich and full 30-year teaching career, Judy has worked in a range of diverse geographical, cultural and social educational contexts throughout Canada. She has also spent the past 19 years in teacher education, recently retiring from teaching in the Master of Teaching Program at OISE/University of Toronto. Judy brings her years of knowledge and experience to OELC, along with her passion and particular interests in the areas of inclusive, culturally responsive educational practices, restorative approaches and professional learning communities.
Judy has had a personal and professional involvement with OELC since 1995. She is most proud of her initial role as a parent and later, as creator and first Course Director of the Grade 6 Leadership Course for the Intellectually Curious. Her bio would not be complete without acknowledging the essential role of family and friends in all parts of her life.
Becky Green,
Vice-President
Becky is a Superintendent of Schools with the York Region District School Board. She has over thirty years of experience within four school boards with twenty-five years of learning and leading with the York Region DSB. Becky’s leadership skills were fostered and developed at OELC. She believes the learning she engaged in with educators and students across the province were the foundations for her years in the classroom, as an administrator, Board Literacy lead and as a School Superintendent. She believes her OELC experiences have been instrumental in much of the work she has done, including her role in schools in ensuring the well-being, and academic achievement for all students with a keen interest on social justice, concussion management and modern learning.
Becky has been a Teacher Facilitator at the Secondary Athletics Leadership Course and Course Coordinator for Secondary Music and the Elementary Fine Arts Leadership courses. She is an avid believer in OELC programs as they provide youth with experiences to develop their leadership beliefs, skills, knowledge, empathy and passion for change while building their confidence and abilities to make a difference within their communities and schools
Amit Unadkat,
Vice President
Amit is an Advisory Manager at Ernst & Young LLP. He is a passionate technology consultant with experience in process automation, predictive analytics, and blockchain technologies.
Amit first came to OELC as a Leader Counselor for the Grade 6 Leadership for Innovation and Creativity course in 2009 – a year after he had moved to Canada from East Africa, Tanzania. He has since been passionately involved, and continues to remain so as a Teacher Facilitator, every year. Each year has brought new forms of professional development for Amit, and he firmly believes that OELC has directly contributed to his growth and success throughout university and into his career.
Amit joined the OELC Board of Directors in 2015 with the goal to further contribute to the organization and has set a goal to make OELC a household name throughout Ontario.
Philippa Thompson,
Director
Philippa is a proud alumnus of OELC and a passionate advocate of leadership, coaching and mentoring. Originally, she participated in the Secondary Athletics session and loved it so much she that she returned to work at the Centre as a Junior Counsellor for the Elementary course and then as an office administrator for the following 3 years.
Philippa has held a number of positions within sales and marketing across a number of enterprise organizations and is currently the Director of Sales Operations at Zayo Canada, focused on sales effectiveness, sales operating data and reporting, and customer relationship management. She continues to participate actively in sports and is enjoying watching and supporting her twin girls as they grow into their own leadership potential.
Philippa joined the OELC Board of Directors in 2015 and is committed to helping the organization through its ongoing evolution to continued success.
David McMurray,
President Elect
David McMurray is Vice President, Student Affairs at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, ON. His post-secondary educational vision is focused on holistic student learning and development within a pedagogical framework linking academic disciplines, high impact teaching and learning practices, and experiential learning stretching both in and beyond the classroom. He has a particular passion for student leadership development.
David’s Masters’ thesis in Human Kinetics, completed in 1989 at the University of Windsor, was focused on The Organizational Growth and Development of the Ontario Student Leadership Centre 1948-1988. This research, starting from the very beginning of the current OELC’s history as the Ontario Athletic Leadership Camp, provided multiple recommendations on organizational structure, funding, and a revised curriculum. A unique and collaborative longitudinal development plan was recommended and accepted by the Ministry of the day, including a new Board of Management organizational model and supporting capital investment and operational business plans.
As a new board member in 2017, David is eager to return to support the continued long term vision of excellence in educational leadership at the OELC.
Karen Albertson,
Director
Karen has enjoyed an exciting career in education, working with culturally and socio-economic diverse populations as a teacher in southern Ontario, as well as an administrator in Toronto and the Beausoleil First Nation. She hails from Northern Ontario and is an advocate for equity and social justice issues. She has supported and developed innovative, cooperative and experiential educational practices, enabling students to develop their self-awareness, confidence and critical thinking skills to help them face social, emotional and educational issues.
Since 2010, she has been actively involved with OELC in various capacities. These include Centre Manager, Teacher Facilitator for Ministry of Education initiatives and the Grade 6 Leadership for Innovation and Creativity Course. More recently, she was Co-Director of the Indigenous Leadership Gathering.
Karen brings her passion for youth leadership development to the board, and is excited to be part of a team to set new direction and further develop the growth and outreach of OELC.
Marty (Martha) Deacon,
Director
Marty has been an educator for 33 years with the Waterloo DSB. She was an elementary and secondary school teacher administrator, consultant and recently finished her career as Superintendent with the WRDSB. Marty has been passionate about youth and creating healthy, active environments where all can be successful, healthy and emotionally strong.
Marty has extended her leadership nationally and internationally in a number of forums. She has coached and led teams at several Olympic, Commonwealth and Pan American Games. She sits on the Executive Board of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Commonwealth Games Canada and other international organizations focused on excellence and deep values. Marty has chaired several committees that focus on education, youth and community outreach. Marty believes sport and physical activity can build strong communities throughout the world.
Marty has very fond memories of her role as a Teacher Facilitator at the Secondary Athletics Leadership Course at OELC. Marty believes this experience was pivotal in the development of her leadership skills and professional desires. She has continued to promote and advocate for all schools in her region to participate in programs offered at OELC.
Chris Hewitt,
Director
Chris is Associate Vice President and Head of Marketing for EveryDay Banking and Digital Banking at TD Bank. He has held progressively senior roles in product management and marketing at TD and previously at Canadian Tire Bank. Chris is a graduate of Cornell and Queen's MBA programs and currently teaches marketing and strategy part-time at Wilfrid Laurier's Lazaridis School of Business.
Chris is passionate about leadership development and community development and serves as the Chair of the Finance and Audit committee for Lutherwood, a children's mental health non-profit in Kitchener Waterloo.
His connection to OELC includes attending as a participant in the Secondary Athletics program and working as an OELC Leader Counsellor. Chris lives in Cambridge with his wife and three children.